


Lunch is the Best Class of the Day

by Movie_Riggs



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Because letting them realize their feelings for one another, F/M, I don't think I'll ever write these two as actually being in a relationship, Is just too fun, My therapy continues, Post-Infinity War, This is as close as I'll ever get to writing a romcom fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-05-01 00:45:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14508780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Movie_Riggs/pseuds/Movie_Riggs
Summary: There's something about the end of the world that makes you gain some perspective and realize you don't care what people think of you half as much as you thought. Admitting you're in love with someone in the middle of the cafeteria for all to see? She's been through worse.





	Lunch is the Best Class of the Day

**Author's Note:**

> Usually I write from Peter's viewpoint, because we don't know a ton about Michelle as a character and it's just easier that way. Thought I'd put in the effort to change it up a little bit this time, though.

There's something about the end of the world that makes you gain some perspective and realize you don't care what people think of you half as much as you thought. Of course, if you asked Michelle Jones, she would adamantly tell you that she _never_ cared what other people thought of her. On the surface, this was very true. She dressed how she wanted, she wore her hair how she wanted, she boldly spoke her mind (on the limited occasions when she thought it worth the effort). She was her own person. But everyone, no matter what they say, cares at least a _little_ bit about their peers' opinion of them. Michelle knew people thought she was weird; she was okay with that. It was much more important to her that people respected her opinion, because as far as she was concerned, her ability to act as a voice for what she believed in was everything. 

As it happened, Michelle harbored one secret that she had always worried could significantly damage people's respect of her. This secret was that she had been desperately in love with Peter Benjamin Parker since the ninth grade. Personally, she gave herself credit for falling for him before he lost the glasses and the acne and started "working out" (yes, she knew what he was really up to, but that was a different story altogether). But that would not make a ton of difference if that secret were to somehow be let out into the open. Suddenly, she would not be the loner-by-choice bookworm whose sole mission in life was to become the first female president. Instead, she would be the antisocial, lovesick stalker who spent all her days dreaming about a boy who, though popular he was not, would never dare step down to her rung on the social ladder (which, as it happened, was the very bottom rung). 

Okay, so maybe Michelle had been a little insecure that first year-and-a-half or so, given her competition had been _the_ Liz Allan-Toomes. Beautiful, admirable, perfect Liz had been at the very top rung of the social ladder. Every little thing this girl (woman, really) could possibly do made Peter's pupils dilate and his mouth turn upward in a dopey grin. Not to mention he would become 137% clumsier around her. Michelle liked Liz just fine as a person; they could even have been friends, if Michelle had been into that sort of thing when Liz was still attending Midtown High. But honestly, Liz was not at all the girl for Peter. And that was a totally unbiased opinion. If they had ended up dating, Peter would have constantly been kept on his toes trying to impress not just Liz but her crowd as well. Michelle would have liked to see Peter attempt to sit with those stuck-up senior girls at lunch. They would have been merciless to him, only letting him stick around because Liz would have constantly insisted (to say nothing of Peter's best friend Ned Leeds, who would have been instantly shooed away and left to eat by himself). Not to mention the very fact that Liz was a senior would mean that she and Peter would have had a little less than a year to be a happy little couple before latter was left to complete two more years at Midtown while the first went off to college. In short, Michelle was absolutely certain she could be a much more suitable girlfriend for Peter, and he a much more suitable boyfriend for her than he would have been for Liz. 

Of course, Michelle would have loved to prove this to Peter, but that would require her to do things that would ruin the image she had built for herself. She couldn't just automatically transition into the type of person that she obviously needed to be in order to catch Peter's eye. Peter was like every high school guy: to get his attention, she needed to wear makeup, conduct herself in a less rude and grumpy manner, maybe even act a little flirty. None of those things were appealing, but by Odin's beard she was _not_ going to start wearing makeup.

Michelle could only imagine the looks she would get if she started trying to give hints to Peter. Everyone would raise their brows at her, disregard her as a qualified decathlon captain (and likely turn every drill she did into a chance to embarrass her), and Flash Thompson would never let her hear the end of it. Peter would be the last to catch on, of course, because the boy was clueless. But when he did... She was pretty sure she had weirded him out enough in the past that he was just scared of her at this point. If he knew she got butterflies when she was near him, though, that would make it ten times worse. She would likely have to say goodbye to eating lunch with him and Ned ("with" being a loose term), because they would constantly be looking over at her to see if she was looking at them. Every time she asked him a question in decathlon, his ears would turn red and he would stumble over his words and that would make her blush too. 

That was why Michelle had been content to sit and read a book, glancing longingly at Peter from afar when no one else was focused on her. 

_Had_ been.

Then half of everybody on the planet turned to dust, her included, and when she returned she had gained some perspective. She was traumatized, sure--likely scarred for life--but the first time she was able to think about it rationally rather than succumb to her emotions, she realized something: she almost missed her chance. She had fallen to the ground, her legs unable to hold her up any longer, and realized that she would have been totally at peace with dying if she had only done one thing differently. She wished she could have told Peter how she felt. Now she was back. Fate had given her a second chance, and this time she was going to toss aside any stupid concerns about what other people thought and she was just going to tell Peter. No hints, no bullshit, just walk right up to him and say...

What the _hell_ was she going to say?!

She was standing just outside the cafeteria doors, trying to come up with anything that sounded acceptable. 

"Yo, loser," she whispered to herself. "We need to talk."

That was too forceful. And a little mean.

"Hey, Parker. I have to talk to you."

That was a bit better. She paced back and forth, stealing another glance inside the cafeteria, where she could see Peter and Ned already sitting at their usual spot. 

"Hey, Peter. Can we talk for a minute?" Michelle closed her eyes and nodded. "Yeah, that's good. That's it."

"You're damn right that's it!" an obnoxious voice said, followed by a chuckle Michelle knew all too well. Her worst fears were realized when she turned to see none other than Flash leaning against the nearest set of lockers, arms folded across his chest and a cocky smirk playing across his face. 

For once, Michelle had no words. How could she? Flash had clearly been there to hear her entire rehearsal/pep talk with herself, and as much as she said otherwise on a daily basis, Flash was not entirely stupid. Her secret was officially out. 

Flash began his monologue by taking a step away from the lockers, closing a little bit of the distance between them. "I gotta say, Jones...I've been wishing for a long time that I could get some dirt on you. But I _never_ would have expected this. I mean that sincerely. I thought you were asexual. Congratulations for covering it up so well."

Michelle cleared her throat, reminding herself that this was Flash and no one in this school was more of a coward. She could handle him, no problem. Except that she was racking her brain for comebacks, and all she kept coming back with was _He knows, he knows, oh God, he knows_. Flash, like an animal, seemed to sense her fear. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I'm not going to say a word." Michelle's breath caught. She had no reason to believe him, but didn't have much of a choice except to hope he was serious. She would have offered him a small smile of thanks, but this was still Flash, and she hated him for even existing to hear all she had said. 

"Well?" Flash interrupted her thoughts, gesturing sardonically toward the cafeteria. "Go get him, tiger." 

Holding her head up proudly, determined to retain some of her dignity, Michelle promptly replied, "Up yours," before turning on her heel and marching into the cafeteria.

She felt Flash's eyes on her back the entire walk over to Peter and Ned's table. She just prayed that he was the only one watching her, and that he hadn't gone over to anyone and suggested that they keep their eyes on her for the next few minutes, because the situation might get interesting. 

"Hi, MJ!" Ned greeted brightly, waving at her and reminding her that she had a mission to accomplish and she was not going to back out now. 

"Hey, Ned," she replied, causing two looks of surprise to stare back at her. Peter and Ned usually attempted to acknowledge her presence at least a couple of times a week, but she rarely said anything to them, let alone a pleasantry. _Good_ , she decided. _Good that I've caught them off guard. I need every advantage I can get_.

Michelle dropped her backpack and her books on the table but made no move to sit down. She was suddenly very aware of her hands, and that she had no good place to put them. "Peter," she said, focusing her attention on him. He and Ned's heads perked up even further, filled with infinite curiosity. "I, uh, have something to tell you. I just...can we talk, like, alone?" 

_Smooth, MJ. Exactly how you rehearsed. Take a damn bow._

Peter stared at her blankly for a moment. Then Ned nudged him conspicuously, and he was hurrying up out of his seat. "Uh, yeah! Yeah, sure."

Michelle nodded once, then started walking back out of the cafeteria, hoping he had the sense to follow her. She was vaguely aware of Flash's presence at the table nearest to the door. Great. Just close enough to see everything. She came to a stop by the lockers where she had been practicing her grand speech just a minute ago. Peter, hands stuffed in his pockets and shifting his weight from one foot to the other, looked at her expectantly. 

_And the proverbial moment of truth has arrived._

"So, uh, what'd you want to talk about?" Peter asked cautiously. "It's not about me missing decathlon last week, is it? Because I have a totally good excuse for that."

Michelle shook her head. "No, it's not about that. It's just...okay, whatever, I'm just gonna say it: ever since the whole apocalypse thing a while back...you remember that, don't you?"

"Uh...yeah," Peter affirmed, audibly gulping.

"Right, so ever since that, I've realized how short life is. And...there's just something I've wanted to express to you for a long time, and now I'm finally ready."

"Oh..." a strangely sheepish look crossed Peter's face. "Well, yeah, see, the thing is...honestly, MJ? I already know."

Michelle's heartbeat stopped completely, and she struggled to keep a neutral face. _What? No! He can't possibly know! No one's known till today!_ To make matters worse, Peter was just rambling now (she found it adorable, actually, but it's so not what she needed right then). 

"I get that it's kinda complicated," he was sputtering rapidly. "And...well, first of all, I just want to thank you for keeping it a secret all this time. I mean, if anyone else had found out, I could be screwed..."

Michelle's knee-jerk reaction was to think, _Geez, it's seriously that terrible for you, that I have a severe romantic attraction to you?_ But then she thought about it a second time, and began to realize that Peter was not on the same page as her. Not even close.

"...and, yeah, you're right," Peter said. "I'm Spider-Man."

"I love you."

They spoke at very nearly the same time. A beat passed, and both registered what the other had said. 

Peter's eyes were wide and his mouth open. "You what?!"

Michelle was inwardly panicking, because she had finally said it aloud for him to hear and now she wished she had stayed dead. Instinctively, she tried to direct the conversation away from her revelation by replying, "I know."

"What?"

"You're right. I _do_ know you're Spider-Man." She felt the disgustingly sweet look of adoration creeping its way onto her face. She was unable to help it; she might have first fallen for Peter before he became a web-slinging superhero, but once she had done the math and figured out it was him under that mask, she had only fallen for him all over again.

"Oh. Right. Yeah," Peter nodded, his eyes refusing to revert back to their normal size. "I thought you did. Ned kept telling me I was crazy, but you're so smart, and, uh...observant...and I just, I was really sure you knew..." 

He cut himself off this time, realizing that no amount of filler sentences could ward off the horrible awkwardness of the situation. Her words were clearly still echoing in his head, but she could not for the life of her decipher what his ever-changing facial expressions meant. Finally, Peter simply turned and hurried down the hall, diving out of her sight. Michelle blinked, trying to understand why he had just been in front of her and now he wasn't. Exaggerated clapping from Flash's table. She could theoretically go punch his lights out right now, but she would save her wrath for decathlon practice. She hung her head and bit her lip, willing herself not to cry, because for the first time in her life she had laid all her emotions out on the table. And against all her hopes, Peter had rejected her.

Wait.

Footsteps?

Michelle looked back up, and Peter was jogging toward her all over again. He shuffled to a halt, his shoes squeaking against the floor. 

"Uh...hi," he said, visibly nervous.

Michelle blinked. "Hi," she responded unsurely. 

"So," Peter waved his arm down the hall where he had come. "Sorry. I, uh, don't know why I did that."

"That's okay," Michelle said instantly. "I don't blame you."

Peter cast a quick glance at the cafeteria doors. "Do...you think we could go somewhere where we're actually alone?"

_That would have been a great idea for her to think of five minutes ago_. Michelle nodded. "Yeah. Sure."

They walked side-by-side down the hall, exiting the school and walking out toward the football field. 

"How long have you known, exactly?" Peter questioned. 

Michelle struggled to keep herself together. Was he not even going to bring up what she had said after all? Either way, it would do no good for her to refuse to answer him. "Since D.C., sophomore year."

"Right," Peter nodded, looking as though he were mentally beating himself up. "Kinda did give myself away on that one. But the glowy-thing was a bomb, and someone had to do something, so..."

Most of that had to be directed at himself, because Michelle had no idea what it meant. She was still so disappointed that he wasn't going to...

"Um...are you really in love with me?"

Ah. There it was.

Relieved but unable to look him in the eye, Michelle nodded. "Yes. I really am."

"Oh. Wow. I, uh, didn't know that."

_Duh, loser, I haven't told anyone till today,_ was what she almost said. But, Michelle reminded herself, her secret was out now. There was no need to keep up the facade of calling him names to hide how she really felt. 

"I know that's kind of out of the blue," she said. "But I really do know you, Peter. I know what kind of a person you are. I know you're a good person when you're just Peter Parker, and I know that every day after school you put on a mask and you're a good person all over again. I know you and Ned still build Star Wars Lego sets and that your aunt is a bad cook but she's your favorite person anyway, and you love dumb science puns because every T-shirt you own has one on the front. I know all that about you, and I absolutely love it. I love _you_. I'm so sorry I never told you. I wanted to, but you had your thing for Liz and I'm nothing like her. But then everybody turned to dust, and I realized that I could have died and been gone forever and never even told you this, so now here we are, and I just had to. I don't want to overwhelm you, but--"

This time, Michelle was rambling and Peter was the one that cut her off. She recognized that there was some irony in that, but she was too busy feeling her heart burst out of her chest because Peter had cut her off with a quick, awkwardly performed kiss on the cheek. She stopped and stared at him in shock. Peter's face was pinker than the time he had gone to Coney Island in the summer without putting sunscreen on. 

"Okay," he stammered. "So, uh, it turns out I have _two_ secrets."

**Author's Note:**

> I desperately need the Homecoming sequel in my life, guys. Like, seriously, it's bad.


End file.
